Medaka Box
Medaka Box (めだかボックス, Medaka Bokkusu) is an ongoing Japanese manga written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Akira Akatsuki. Medaka Box is serialized in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump, published by Shueisha since May 2009. The series follows the Student Council of Hakoniwa Academy, originally comprised of Medaka Kurokami and Zenkichi Hitoyoshi, during their various adventures to honor suggestions presented by fellow students in order to better the academy. These suggestions are received through a suggestion box Medaka institutes at the series start: the titular "Medaka Box" (a play on words with the Japanese term for suggestion box, meyasu box). As the series progresses, more characters join Medaka in her endeavors, and the Student Council face progressively more difficult requests, both serious and dangerous. Plot Overview Suggestion Box Arc :Duration: Chapters 1 - 8 The series begins with the announcement of Medaka Kurokami’s election as Student Council President. She promptly strong-arms her childhood friend Zenkichi Hitoyoshi into helping her as the Student Council's General Affairs Manager. Together, the pair answers numerous requests, from finding lost dogs to cleaning up club buildings and even fixing personalities. Shortly, they are joined by Kouki Akune, formerly of the Judo Club, who becomes the Student Council Secretary and Zenkichi’s rival for Medaka’s affections. Club Battle Swim Meet Arc :Duration: Chapters 9 - 13 To decide the distribution of club funds, the Student Council holds a swim meet, forcing the academy’s clubs to compete for the money. The avaricious members of the Swimming Club (Yakushima, Tanegashima, and Mogana Kikaijima) take the competition to a whole other level though; going so far as to risk their own lives for the sake of profit. However, by the end of the competition they are reformed by Medaka, who convinces them that their lives and the lives of their teammates are more important than money. Medaka also convinces Kikaijima to join the Student Council, as her experience as a first class bookkeeper more than qualifies her to be the Treasurer. Clash With The Enforcers Arc :Duration: Chapters 14 - 21 It is not long before the Student Council’s unorthodox methods begin to garner the wrong kind of attention: that of the Public Morals Committee, and their leader, Myouri Unzen; considered a superhuman on the same level as Medaka. The two groups butt heads several times, before Unzen himself gets involved and attacks the Student Council directly, leading to an all out brawl between him and Medaka. Enraged that Unzen attacked her friends, Medaka enters Perses Mode in her anger, and proceeds to trounce Unzen, but is stopped by the other members of the Student Council before she can finish him. With Unzen out of commission, Hakama Shiranui, Hakoniwa Academy’s Chairman, decides to meet with Medaka. Flask Plan Arc :Duration: Chapters 22 - 57 The chairman reveals to the Student Council a government conspiracy to study and attempt to artificially recreate super-humans on the same level as Medaka. Formally called Abnormals, Medaka quickly discovers that she is not the only Abnormal in the academy, let alone the world. In fact, these abnormal children are intentionally being brought together as the academy's Class 13 in order to study them and attempt to recreate their abilities; the "Flask Plan." However, once such a method is found, the students of Hakoniwa Academy will be forced to endure the vicious trial experiments, which will result in the death of most of the students. Medaka resolves to oppose the Flask Plan, and she and the other members of the Student Council descend into the academy's underground facilities to challenge the Abnormals participating in the plan; the fearsome Thirteen Party. After a series of difficult battles in which Medaka's own Abnormality is finally identified, the Student Council is able to put an end to the Flask Plan. Their success is short-lived however, as the Chairman immediately falls back on a new method for the Flask Plan centered around Misogi Kumagawa, the one person even Medaka could not save. Minus 13 Arc :Duration: Chapters 58 - 92 The new enemies are a subgroup of Abnormals known as Minuses; Abnormals that aren't merely unhinged due to the loneliness of being better than normal humans, but genuinely horrific, deranged people with powers that defy both logic and physics to match. These new enemies group together as Class -13, lead by Kumagawa, who, using a school rule, threatens to usurp Medaka's Student Council with one of his own, allowing him to achieve his ultimate goal of gathering the elite students of the academy together, and killing all of them. Medaka accepts his challenge, and the two Student Councils face off in a series of five battles to determine which council will take over control of the school. With allies old and new, the Student Council progresses through the challenges, with Medaka finally defeating Kumagawa in the last match, and successfully reforms him. Class -13 is formally accepted into the academy, and Medaka invites Kumagawa to become the Student Council Vice-President, a position he accepts after encouragement from Zenkichi. As the Student Council celebrates their victory, the mysterious “Delayed Two,” the remaining transfer students invited by the Chairman, arrive at the academy. Consisting of the mysterious Najimi Ajimu and Hanten Shiranui, the pair label themselves as Not Equals; those who stand above both Abnormals and Minuses. Student Council Successors Arc :Duration: Chapters 93 - 115 Ajimu introduces the Not Equals to the Student Council, making it clear her intent to restart the Flask Plan once Medaka graduates. Medaka and her Student Council, now with Kumagawa in its rankings, attempt to stop the plan's revival by training five middle school students to become their successors. However, Ajimu reveals one of the new recruits is actually a member of the Not Equals; though the Student Council ultimately discovers that all five are Not Equals, as well as Normal girls. Medaka arranges for the interns to go on a Treasure Hunt as part of their training, though the original members of the Student Council are soon roped in to participate as well. With the exception of Zenkichi, all of them make it through the Treasure Hunt, and with teamwork, manage to defeat Medaka, with Kikaijima claiming the prize. Upon discovering that Zenkichi never made it past the first trial however, Medaka turns her back on him. Ajimu reveals that her true plan was to break the bond between Medaka and Zenkichi; Zenkichi was the only Normal who could stay by Medaka’s side, but with the introduction of the interns, Zenkichi has lost his value in her eyes. Flask Plan Revival Arc :Duration: Chapters 116 - Present Ajimu offers to make Zenkichi a “main character” so that he can defeat Medaka and earn her respect…by becoming the new test subject for the Flask Plan. Zenkichi agrees and decides to oppose Medaka, a plotline that is still unresolved. Characters A large number of students at Hakoniwa Academy are scholarship students, allowed to enroll at Hakoniwa because of their ability to excel in a specific area and are generally known as Specials. Student Council members Kouki Akune and Mogana Kikaijima qualify as Specials. More extraordinary students are known as Abnormals, who are individuals possessing overwhelming capabilities such that the individual is unable to control that aspect of themselves and inherently seek to master their abnormality. Introduced the anti-thesis to Abnormals are Minuses, students who have no inherent interest in controlling their abnormalities and have no sense of morality. Rather, they thrive on destruction, regarding themselves as unworthy, unable to relate to others, and have no sense of responsibility. Students who lack any special ability, such as Zenkichi, are known as Normals. Main Characters Medaka Kurokami :The female protagonist of the series and the 98th Student Council President of Hakoniwa Academy. Beautiful and well endowed, Medaka is an excellent academic student, placing first in the national test. In addition to her academic achievements, she has excelled in various other areas, such as calligraphy and sports, and obtained seemingly inhuman results. When the series begins, she has just been elected the new student council president by an unheard-of margin of 98% of the total votes, even though she is still only a first-year student. Medaka institutes a suggestion box in which students can drop suggestions for various tasks that the students feel would improve the academy. Her personality is one of helping others, and she is determined to finish any task handed to her. For every task she completes, Medaka buys a vase with flowers. She one day hopes to have completed so many suggestions that she fills the entire academy with blooming flowers. Zenkichi Hitoyoshi :The male protagonist of the series, childhood friend of Medaka, and the Student Council General Affairs Manager, reluctantly joining for the sake of protecting Medaka. Zenkichi always shows enthusiasm toward Medaka’s cause for helping others and will punish anyone who opposes that cause; it was he who molded Medaka's current personality. Having known Medaka since they were both two years old, Zenkichi is deeply in love with her, though he feels she would not except his feelings if he were ever to confess. :Zenkichi is noted to be a Normal, soneone with no special abilities. Medaka's brother, Maguro Kurokami, takes special interest in him because no matter how much he's discouraged or fails, he stands back up. Zenkichi is a master of Savate, having honed his skill to such an extent that he possesses an almost impenetrable defense. According to Zenkichi, he learned this style because he fears fighting and uses it to disarm opponents and take away their desire to fight. Because of this display of skill, the Flask Plan is very interested in him, believing him to have the potential to become an Abnormal. Hansode Shiranui :The comic relief character of the series, and the granddaughter of Hakoniwa Academy's Chairman. Zenkichi regards her as his best friend; he is apparently the only person who can get along with her and somewhat control her. Even though she is the smallest of the main characters, Shiranui has a very large appetite and is constantly seen eating. She has a knack for finding clandestine information with ease, knowing about most things that would seem to be vague details, and is unusually perceptive. Normally, she is a very cheerful girl, but she is shown to have a dark side and is brutally tactless. Shiranui harbors a hidden resentment against Medaka and claims she has no friends and, unlike other Abnormals, does not desire them, a typical mindset of a Minus. Because of the antagonism that exists between them, Medaka initially asks Shiranui to become the Vice-President of the Student Council, though Shiranui refuses. While she prefers to remain on the sidelines observing and is extraordinarily capable of removing herself from any danger, Shiranui elects to join Class -13 after encountering Kumagawa. Despite her claims to not care for anyone nor having any friends, it seems that she has strong feelings for Zenkichi. Kouki Akune :The Student Council Secretary, Akune has been infatuated with Medaka since middle school and hates Zenkichi for being able to spend so much time with her. In middle school, he had been a violent delinquent known as the "Destroyer," though was reformed by and subsequently developed feelings for Medaka. Since then, he gradually became less violent and now shows little desire to actually hurt others. Because of his natural fighting abilities, Akune is known as the "Prince of Judo" and was star of the Judo Club before being recruited into the Student Council for his "beautiful" handwriting. He is considered to be a Special, with skills above average, but not quite Abnormal. Akune's ability is being able to copy other people's abilities, but to a lesser extent. Mogana Kikaijima :The Student Council Treasurer and originally the ace of the Swimming Club, Kikaijima and her fellow swimmers Yakushima and Tanegashima had an incredible obsession with money for personal reasons and wanted to gain enough money to fill a pool and swim in it. When Kikaijima was a child, her father left because the family was in debt, and her mother became sick from working herself in to the ground. All the people that Kikaijima had thought were friends left her because her family had no money, leading to her obsession with wealth. She and her teammates are all reformed by Medaka, who later recruits her as the treasurer (for an hourly wage). Kikaijima is a Special, and is one of the school's many scholarship students. Kikaijima has an incredible lung capacity, allowing her to hold her breath for a month if she chooses. She can also focus her voice as a sound cannon and destroy physical objects with ultrasonic shrieks. Misogi Kumagawa :A young man who was once the Student Council President of his middle school. Much to Medaka and Zenkichi's horror, Kumagawa transfers into Hakoniwa Academy after the destruction of the Flask Plan. A nihilist who believes that there is no point to life or reason to be born, he has absorbed all the negative aspects of the people he met; he failed at everything and lost to everyone at everything. Medaka attempted to sympathize with him and reform him, like she had done to her other classmates, but Kumagawa proved to be beyond her influence. Though it hasn't been explicitly shown, it is known that he attacked one of his classmates in front of Medaka, which led her to attack him in a fit of rage, resulting in him leaving the school. Upon realizing that she couldn't help him, which went against everything she believed herself to be capable of, she was left emotionally scarred. The scar has still not yet healed, as this day she still berates herself over not being able to do anything positive for him. Medaka describes him as a compulsive liar who places no meaning in trust or doubt, while Hitomi Hitoyoshi considers him a developmental depravity. Despite the immensely negative personality Kumagawa possesses, he has a purely positive look regarding himself and is always seen smiling. Setting The entirety of the series takes place at Hakoniwa Academy; across the campus during the earlier chapters, in the underground facility during the Flask Plan arc, at several prepared battle grounds on campus during the Minus 13 arc, and in various academy buildings during Student Council Successors arc. Media﻿ Since its first appearance in May 2009, the Medaka Box ''manga has appeared weekly in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. Shueisha also compiles the chapters into bimonthly tankōbon volumes. As of October 4, 2011, Shueisha has compiled its chapters into twelve volumes.Volume 12 (in Japanese). Published by Shueisha. An anime version of Medaka Box is being produced by Gainax, to premiere in April of 2012. Shouji Saeki is directing and editing the series scripts, and Ikuo Kuwana is designing the characters.Medaka Box School Comedy TV Anime Made by Gainax Nisio Isin is writing a Medaka Box novel. As of now, there are no details on the novel's plot or relevance to the series’ continuity. Reception The series is currently doing considerably well in sales, and as of 2011 the series has reached a sales total of three million copies.Nishio Ishin’s manga Medaka Box to get anime adaptation References External Links * Shonen Jump Medaka Box Manga Serialization Page * Official Shueisha Preview Site * Shueisha Medaka Box Vomic Category:Medaka Box